Click to viewAnother year, another DefCon, another litany of epic security fails. Like this here Biolock Model 333, a high-tech and high-priced bit of protection that surely requires expert tools and technique to override. Here's how it does against a paperclip:

The problem, as you can readily see, is that while the biometrics all seem to be in order, the manufacturer decided to pair it with a two-bit override lock. It is hilariously simple to crack if you don't own one, and terrifyingly so if you do.

While the Biolock Model 333 was the most egregious example of poor locksmithery, a smartkey deadbolt from Kwikset and the AMSEC electronic safe Model es1014 both also got the DefCon treatment with similar results.

Is DefCon providing an instruction manual for bad guys? Sure, in a sense. But the pros are already figuring this stuff out on their own; the important thing is that customers and companies know that their products are easily compromised, so they can do something about it. It's stories like these that make me glad I don't possess anything more valuable than three seasons volumes of Sports Night on DVD. [Wired]